What’s the best way to get back at pirates? Beat them at their own game. Radiohead proved that in 2007, and now Apple is attempting to do something similar. We think. It might just be an odd new marketing strategy. Whatever the case, Apple just uploaded the entire first episode of its currently-premiering post-apocalyptic series Silo to… Twitter. As in, free for anyone to watch. And yes, we checked; this is the same Apple that released a $50,000 Mac Pro.
A slow-burner
3 days until the #Silo finale.
Here’s the entire first episode. pic.twitter.com/lIcTXCQ9D6
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) June 27, 2023
The question is: did Apple’s gamble pay off? We think so. We’re talking about it, aren’t we? Had Apple stuck to its rigid release schedule, we might’ve never even heard of Silo – let alone watch it. That’s not the reaction you’d be looking for if your show’s season one finale was only three days away.
It’s not unheard of for a network to release a pilot episode on YouTube to garner a few extra eyeballs (and hopefully paying customers) for whatever new show they’re pushing. HBO’s House of the Dragon immediately comes to mind. But that was on YouTube – a place for video content. This is the first time* we’ve seen a major network using Twitter’s blue-tick powers to upload two-hour-plus videos on the platform. Heck, it might even start a trend.
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If you needed any more incentive to check out Apple’s Twitter premiere, we’re giving it to you. Silo is based on Wool, a science-fiction novel by Hugh Howey that sets up a post-apocalyptic world with its remaining survivors taking refuge in, you guessed it, a Silo. Oh, and Rashida Jones makes an appearance. If that, coupled with the episode being free isn’t enough to convince you, we’re not sure what will.
*Unless we’re counting that account that managed to upload the entirety of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Seriously.